


Clear From the Start

by ChemistryDuck



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Female My Unit | Byleth, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, No Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:34:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26447161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChemistryDuck/pseuds/ChemistryDuck
Summary: Hilda can read her best friend better than anyone else in the world. When a new professor arrives at Garreg Mach, she catches on to Claude's true feelings real quick.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 70





	Clear From the Start

Hilda had always known. She first saw the way Claude looked at the stranger when the mission party walked through the gates of Garreg Mach Monastery. The way his eyes lit up when he explained how she had appeared just in time to save the three young lords. The way he couldn't help but smile a little when he told Hilda her name, "Byleth".

Hilda watched as her best friend's face fell when he learned that Byleth would not be enrolling at the school. However, when he learned that she was to be a professor she could almost see the cogs turning in his head. Mind racing to figure out a new plan, eyes glinting with the promise of a fresh new scheme.

Hilda saw the way Claude twirled his arrow nervously before introducing the Golden Deer house to the newest professor. Hilda couldn't remember the last time Claude seemed anxious and she knew that he needed this pitch to go well. She had helped him rehearse and knew that with his quick wit and silver tongue it wouldn't be long before Byleth would be welcomed by her Fawns. She watched as he sealed the deal with his closing line, "You? Me? Golden Deer? We could be great together."

She celebrated alongside Claude that night, the party that he had worked tirelessly to throw spilled into the halls. Shortly after finding out that Byleth had chosen to teach their class, Claude had insisted that everyone put in the utmost effort to welcome "Teach", a nickname that he insisted on employing (and which Hilda found very cute), into the Golden Deer house.

Hilda noticed how Claude worked even harder in class, training and researching in hopes of standing out among the other Deers. He always volunteered to do extra tasks and she even caught him asking for extra credit. She sometimes wished he wouldn't try so hard; it only made her look lazier.

Hilda saw how he beamed whenever the professor smirked at his jokes, groaned at his awful puns, and tried to hold back laughter whenever his most elaborate schemes (usually against Lorenz) came together. Claude, Hilda noted, would delight in the rare instances that Teach failed miserably at the later and had to quickly excuse herself to keep up her professional image.

Hilda registered how Claude had saved up his gold from the past couple missions. She watched him sneak into town and head into a small shop for which he emerged without his gold, holding a small cloth bag. It was two weeks before Hilda saw that little bag again, this time on a table in the library. Fortunately the library was almost empty. Unfortunately the one person in there was Claude. Hilda knew that she could never out scheme the schemer himself and resigned herself to a slow, burning death from curiosity.

Luckily, Hilda didn't have to wait long before finding out what Claude had bought. The very next day she saw Professor Byleth getting ready to spar with the class. Many of the Deer had wished her a happy birthday, and given her small gifts. Hilda watched her take off a beautiful bracelet before tucking it into the very same bag that had been taunting her in the library. She saw the way Claude watched the professor, smiling at how she took care of his gift, how as soon as training was over she hurried to return it to her wrist.

And when Claude was asked to tea with Byleth at the end of class, Hilda saw how he tried to play it cool and contain his excitement. But she did happen to notice how he practically skipped back to his room when he thought no one was watching. She watched him run to the gazebo with a goofy grin plastered on his face and apologize for being late even though he was at least 5 minutes early.

But Hilda also saw how Byleth had clearly been early too. How she had laid out all of Claude's favorites, down to the Almyran Pine Needles tea. How she had even brought along a tactical game that she had found in town. How when he walked into the gazebo, her eyes lit up almost as much as his did.

And Hilda could swear, that for the very first time, she saw Professor Byleth smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> Thank you so much for reading my very first work ever! I really wanted this to be a light simple set of observations following a similar format in each paragraph. The part about the bracelet veered a bit away from that, but I thought it was too sweet not to include as it really stuck out to me in the game. I really hope you liked it despite the length.
> 
> Have a wonderful rest of the day, and I hope to add a longer work soon.


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